Remember the freedom fighters

Flight Sergeants Colter Hascarl 17 and Colin Dunn 17 and leading Air Cadet Skyler Smith-Clark 16 held the flags and led the parade from NVSS on Nov. 11 to commemorate those who have fought

The air was crisp and the sun was shining as mothers, daughters, sons and fathers gathered in Ferland Park Nov. 11 to remember loved ones.

Michael Reed stood tall and silent with his two sons Jimmy and Tommy. “My grandfather was in WW1. It’s important for me to be here. It’s important everyone is here to remember,” he said.

The ceremony started at NVSS with packed bleacher stands filled with families young and old. Poems read over imagery of war proved profoundly heartfelt in capturing the emotion of the day. Music sung by choirs filled the room with the sorrows unlike that of the poppy fields, and many broke down to cry.

Around 10:30 a.m. cadet flag bearers took front lines of the parade that marched everyone over to the cenotaph at Ferland Park. People gathered around as community members showed their appreciation with the giving of a wreath. Stephen Adams 71, stood proud in commemoration of his Grandfather.

“I lost my dad in Italy and lost my Grandfather in Hong Kong. They were both stretcher barriers in WW1,” he said. “I remember 365 days a year, ever since my father came back I’ve been a different person. Freedom is not something you get, it’s something you have to work for.”